‘Political agenda’

Propaganda-style slogans claim they contain mineral water from Mount Paektu. In Korean mythology, the sacred, active volcano is the birthplace of Dangun, founder of the first Korean kingdom more than 4,000 years ago.

Image copyright5149/Instagram

Image caption
Designers 5149 have been criticised for their use of North Korean imagery to promote their product

Dozens of Koreans have posted pictures of themselves on social media with the masks, which cost 4,000 won (£2.80).

But several stores have pulled them from their shelves following a backlash from local media.

“Personally, I don’t like merchandise promoting a certain political agenda,” Irene Kim, a South Korean skincare expert, told the South China Morning Post.

“A few years ago, North Korea was the largest threat to our country… Kim Jong-un was seen as a dictator and a tyrant who would stop at nothing to disrupt world peace, now he’s become the face of a popular face mask,” she added.

Mr Kim has led North Korea since the death of its former dictator, his father Kim Jong-il, in 2011.